America

To Whom It May Concern,
I am going to do my best to paint a pretty, yet true picture of what it is like here in America. I will also do my best to explain exactly what an American is; well at least what I think an American to be. Based on what you seen on television or read in books about America in our early days, we may seem to have been a bit divided as a country and overly barbaric. And if all that you have to go by is our early history, then I must say that you are correct. In the beginning America was at constant war with ourselves. You name it and we were odds about it. Whether it law, religion, rights, government, etc., we could not come agree upon it. We were in a place where no two races were subject to the same laws, the only religion that was allowed to be practiced without the threat of violence was that of Christianity, the only race that was considered to be free was the white race; making them the only race that were subject to rights under the constitution, and also made them the only race that the United States government recognized. With hearing that I am sure that you are asking yourself; if this rings true, then why would I want to venture to such a place? I can assure you that we are most definitely I a different place now than we were 100 years ago. While our government still has not really changed its controlling and barbaric ways, we are in more ways than not a country with equal rights now. All races live together in essence in harmony. I say in “essence” because you are always going to have a select few individuals whether they be black, white, or otherwise that are not going to be able to let past rest. So in individual state of mind in some cases; racism, inequalities, racial boundaries, etc. still exist. But as a whole we are recognized as country I whole we are believed and statued as free and equal. We have gone from a place where blacks were not able to look in the direction of that of a white individual without breaking a law, to blacks and whites being able to come together in civil union. We have been deemed “the land of the free and the Home of the brave”. To be an American in today’s time, means being able to pursue the dream of being anything that you want to be; whether it be Carpenter or President, whether you be black or white, man or woman, Christian or otherwise (even though I have never known a President that has not been of the Christian persuasion, as the United States is derived on Christian Principle), without the scrutiny of the government or any other entity. We are also one of, if not the only country that I know of that allows those not of American dissent to venture to our country and enjoy the same freedoms (in some cases more freedoms) that Americans enjoy. Immigrants have protection under the same laws that we abide by and if they prefer America to their Country of residence, we also offer them the opportunity to become full-fledged citizens. We allow them to join our militaries, enroll in or schools, and do what they must to better themselves. I must admit though, America at the moment is faced with a grave economic time. But even in this; the time of the greatest depression unto which we have ever seen, 98% of the American population is still proud to be an American, and would not have it any other way. We are a proud country of people, and we love our country dearly. But I will not talk your head off in reference to how great or how horrible we may be. Instead, I will allow you to make your Journey and make your own assumptions. I do believe though that you will find the United States most intriguing and who knows; maybe you will want to stay a while.

Sincerely,
Herbert J Mouzone